Country Nights
by CorpralCarrot
Summary: " Dude, don't joke like that! That's what happened to my hunting dog when I was like, thirteen! Sparky wasn't a bad dog, he was just a little excite-I am not a dog!" No pairings unless you squint. Friendship.


**A/N: So, instead of writing a new chapter of IaC, I'm procrastinating, by writing this. I'm also trying to break through writers block for that story, and ignore my essay due for my history class in three days. Don't judge me. This isn't too good. However, I just had to write it. The vague idea was in my head for a few days now. Also, I don't know if you ever have been lightening bug hunting, firefly catching, it's good fun. -is a country girl at heart- Anyway, read on, dear ones. **

**Warnings: Mild swearing? **

**Pairing: None. Unless you squint. **

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><p>The fireflies looked like living stars, as they buzzed around one another, lighting up the blue-black night. The grass was speckled with the glowing lightning bugs. These creatures were not safe, not in their sound of crickets and cicadas and night life of the country. Their bliss was about to be interrupted. Within the tall grass, there was a splotch of blonde. Below this blonde mess of hair, were two sky colored eyes, and below them was a face set in determination, down to the tip of a pink tongue out the corner of the mouth. The boy was dressed in a pair of jean shorts and a shirt, bare footed and dirt smudged, the mighty hunter stood ready.<p>

As the bugs courted happily, the young boy tensed before dashing from his hiding place, a jar in one hand, the lid in the other, desperately trying to snag at least one of the fast little bugs in the glass prison. Left, right, left again, and with a final flail, the boy came to a stop, chest heaving, a grin on his face, showing off a gap in his teeth, from a tooth lost recently. The blonde held up the jar, trying to see if he caught one in his desperate attempt to snag the bugs said to bring good luck.

Inside his jar, was one tiny, glowing, insect witch was throwing itself against the lid and sides of its prison, desperate and confused. Cloud nearly yelled with joy. He'd been trying to catch one for nights now, and he finally did it. The tiny bug continued to buzz around, still not aware of it's desperate situation. The bug must of freaked out when it saw a huge face, with two blue eyes framed by blonde bangs nearly pressed against the glass, because it immediately slammed into the opposite side of the jar. Cloud couldn't help but snicker at the poor thing.

" Cloud!"

The blonde boy turned at his name being yelled.

Bolting over the ground towards him was an older boy, with hair just as chaotic as his, just as barefoot as he was. The other boy has no jar with him, but Cloud didn't expect him to. Zack tended to forget some things, but remember other things for months. Cloud held up his jar, waving excitedly.

The black haired boy slid to a stop in front of him, and both boys peered into the jar, just watching the tiny bug flitter back and forth. Eventually, the taller of the two grabbed the jar, twisting the lid off the jar, and letting the dazed bug fly away, away from the two insane , dirt tinged boys. Cloud looked up, dazed and hurt, before looking at Zack.

" Hey! What did ya do that for?"

" Well, you can't keep it forever. It'll die. "

Cloud blinked.

"Oh."

Zack grinned at him, before grabbing his wrist and tugging him through the grass.

" Come on! Mom said that you and your mom are invited for dinner. Everyone should be waiting for us, it's why I came and got ya. "

Cloud stumbled slightly, but quickly regained his footing, pounding after his best friend.

" What's the point of this again?"

"Shh, they'll hear you!"

" Hear me? They don't have ears."

" That's not the point! Now, shh!"

It was kind of a funny sight, watching two grown men crouch in the grass, stalking their prey as if they were like predators stalking a deer or something. It was rather amusing. Their prey, was nothing near as fleet or powerful as a deer, however.

The tiny bugs were out that night, swirling and twirling around one another, an eternal dance that had no foreseeable end. The breeze of summer air made the moonlight strands of one's hair to dance, while the blond spikes waved like blades of grass in the night. The moon was full and the sky was cloudless, and there was more than enough light to see by. Besides, their phones could be used as flashlights if worse came to worst.

"Ready?"

" Yes. Even though I still don't see the point of this-"

"Go!"

With that, the silver haired man was left standing there, jar in hand, as his blonde companion tore about the field, trying to capture the tiny, 'lightning' bugs. With a shrug, the taller man made his way through the grass, at a calm walk. Quickly though, he found that they were smarter than they appeared, and he was chasing the tiny things just as hard as the other man, even as the moon inched higher in the sky.

"And time!"

Both men, who had been lost in their own game of chase, stopped, confused. Sephiroth looked at Cloud, clearly puzzled at the choice of words.

" I was not aware that we were timed in this, whatever it is. "

Cloud shrugged.

" I wasn't either."

" It wasn't! But it looked like you two were having one hell of a competition. "

Cloud shrugged, while Sephiroth continued to look puzzled. Cloud shook his head and looked at his companion, holding his jar up to look in. Two tiny bugs twirled around, befuddled with the sudden capture and shocked at the lack of space in their new home. Cloud sighed. All these years and all he could manage was two. Which was generally average. Oh well. The blonde looked over at his taller friend, just in time to see the , silver haired man watching the bugs fly away from the jar, swirling about him for a moment before flying away.

Cloud sighed, while Zack snickered at the sight of the blonde's exasperated and confused look. The clueless silverette looked at Zack who simply shrugged at him, smirking.

" What did you want, Zackary?"

The smirk instantly fell into a pout.

" Aw, come on Seph, don't call me Zackary! You sound like my Dad !"

Green eyes took on a an amused glint, and a playful cock of the head at the dark haired man. Zack knew that look. It meant that the man was going to say something that would make him look like a teenager in his outrage and he knew it would make the others laugh.

" Well, you know that puppies need to have a firm hand when being trained. However, I know there is also a tradition of shooting an animal if it is considered untrainable or useless. "

A look of horror crossed Zack's face.

" Dude, don't joke like that! That's what happened to my hunting dog when I was like, thirteen! Sparky wasn't a bad dog, he was just a little excite-I am not a dog!"

Seph laughed at the man's outrage, while Cloud snickered.

" Wasn't that the dog that kept trying to, how did you put it, 'make sweet, sweet, love' to your dad's leg?"

" Shut up, Cloud!"

Cloud laughed, before letting the fireflies go, watching them twirl away into the darkness. They quickly became lost in the mass of other bugs, to go about their lives, despite the short length of them.

" What did you want, anyway?"

" Huh? Oh, I came to get ya'll. Dinner's ready. "

Finally!

Cloud made his way to the black haired man, while Sephiroth followed him, coming up on his other side. If Cloud was naïve enough to believe it, he would say that as they walked back to the house that his mother had left him, to their other two friends, that he could hear the ghosts of his childhood gamboling around them, laughter high and sweet. He remembered when he and Zack left home for the first time, when they had their fights, how he had met Genesis, slowly he and Zack became close again, meeting Angeal, and finally Sephiroth himself.

It was like, they were his own personal family. They had all grown close, even with their differences. They had been there when his mother died, and they had been there when he had failed to make SOLDIER on his first try, and they had been there when he had made it into SOLDIER. They were something that he had never known as a child, aside from Zack. He savored every moment. Angeal and Genesis were country boys like he and Zack, but when Sephiroth had admitted to never gone firefly catching, he had been horrified. He had forgotten that Sephiroth was from Midgar. Therefore, when they had gotten leave for a few weeks, he offered his child-hood home for them. Which is how they ended up here and now. He had to savor this, while he had it.

Nothing lasted forever, after all.

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><p><strong>AN: Read. Like it? Hate it? Let me know. Or don't. It'll make me happy, and perhaps, I'll update IaC faster. I have horrid internet connection that's a factor, too. Also, I wrote fluff. Kinda. I'm not too thrilled, but it's not completely suckish. **

**Lots of love, **

**C.C.**


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